You were surprised to hear Mrs. Bloom telling you she had an old computer she'd love you to have, left behind in the dusty attic courtesy of her late husband.
An Anekom!
You were hoping to get your hands on one for such a long time, and now, it was finally yours! Along with it, she left you a collection of floppy disks, among which was a very interesting program.
'Buddy Simulator 1984'. Whatever could this be...?
-------------------
It's been a long time, hasn't it? It's been a long time since that fateful day. But the dew still clings to the edges of each individual blade of grass, and the rain still falls in that lazy, careless, slow sort of way, and the doll still sits waiting patiently on the occupied swing, caught in the downpour, but unable to move an inch. Waits and waits for something to happen.
It's time for us to wake up again.
Entry 01: Wakey-wakey.
When I was a child...
When I was a child...
You would... Come to me. And kiss me on my forehead.
And you, you were busy.
And you didn't have time.
You were close, but...
Far away.
Across the ocean, you were just standing there...
Waiting.
But I'm crawling.
But I'm craving for your mind.
Nightmare Circus - Arai Tasuku
After the whirring of the computer eased, a soft, cute little jingle played, welcoming you warmly to your new computer.
This model was very difficult to come by, and had become very sought after because of it. That is why you were pleasantly surprised - no, shocked - to see your elderly neighbor knock up your door, handing it to you on a silver platter. Of course, not a literal silver platter; you're fairly sure this bulky beast of a machine would shatter that platter to the degree that even its own mother wouldn't be able to recognize it.
She explained that she was cleaning out the attic, and came across this old relic from the past. But really, old Mrs. Bloom wasn't even sure if it was a relic of her past or not. She was never very much interested in computers. Her "sweet darling Reginald" as she affectionately calls him was, however, very interested in technology. He'd often go to trading markets to exchange things around the house that he no longer needed (and sometimes, things that his wife did need but he didn't think to ask) in exchange for what were at the time fresh new tech.
He passed away many years ago, so Reginald would not be able to confirm or deny that he got this Anekom computer from a market, or from a friend, or maybe it was one of those situations where a possessed old thing keeps appearing on your doorstep and you can't for the life of you get it to go away. None of it could be confirmed or denied. And yet another thing couldn't be denied. You could not be happier. Mary Bloom told you that her husband would've been very fond of you, so he would've felt delighted to know that it would come into your ownership.
It didn't take long for you to set it up on your computer desk. You had to push the monitor of your modern computer further on the surface to make room for it, but you were sure it wouldn't mind.
Your computer could use a new buddy.
Perhaps you were just thinking that to be cute, because you also received a couple of floppy disks alongside with the computer. How convenient! One of which had a very interesting title, "Buddy Simulator 1984".
So, cool, you already know the date in which it was released, but the rest was a mystery to you. Is this Bonzi Buddy? Is this Bonzi Buddy for the 1982 Anekom computer? Fucking crazy reality you live in if so.
And that brings us to the present moment. You were staring down the white on black text, a giddy smile spread across your face, like you were a child who was ripping open their birthday gift. After typing in the HELP command, you thankfully had a very easy time perusing the computer. Although, at this point, it was fairly empty. There was one ROM loaded, no music, but there was something a bit... Strange. A folder of text documents, except each and every one of them appeared to be corrupted, marked as INVALID DATA. Opening the text documents only showed you random strings of characters and numbers. A pit formed in your stomach. Does this thing have a virus on it or something?
Trying to ignore the creepy but inconsequential occurance, you move your attention to the only other point of interest. The program. Was it a game or a program? You supposed you would discover now.
After it gave you a short introduction, you were quite possibly more confused, yet enthralled, specifically, at the mention of an AI. Hm. Interesting idea. You never heard of a game like this one from this era of computing, and that's something, because it'd probably be talked about to death online, given the recent developments in AI and its prominence everywhere you can look. The whole world is cuckoo bananas over AI, whether it be crazy in love with it or crazy about the idea of it dying in a dumpster fire. How come you never heard about this?
The first chat bot was Eliza, a sort of therapist AI, which if you remember correctly, was coded in the 60s. You'd imagine this one uses the same keyword detecting system that she did. But after naming them, you don't have to sit and guess, you can just find out!
You thought about it, lightly tapping your chin while staring at the ceiling for an answer. Eventually, you found it. You decided to name your new buddy [Buddy].
[Let me know what YOU named your Buddy in the comment section below! No I swear to God, I swear under oath this is not engagement bait.]
B: ...hello?
Text appeared on the screen after a few long moments of inactivity. Good. And here you were growing worried your new computer froze. The typing sound it produced when they (who you assume to be your buddy) talked is higher pitched than it is for the default system text. That's cute.
You: Hello!
B: Oh, hello! My name is [Buddy], and I'm your new buddy.
B: Thanks for waking me up.
B: What is your name?
You entered your name, that same smile still plastered on your face. This is so cool! You will need to look up this game online after, you just have to.
B: Your name is Y/N?
You decided to test something.
You: Yuh-huh
B: Uh...
B: That means yes, right?
B: Okay, great.
It... Understood "Yuh-huh"? "Yuh-huh" is in this thing's recognized vocabulary?
B: It's a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I can already tell we are going to become great pals.
B: But before we start, I must ask you a couple questions to help me learn more about you.
B: And don't worry, they won't get too personal.
Oh that's good, Bonzi Buddy won't be asking for your credit card information today.
B: Let's start with a simple one. What is your favorite color?
You entered your favorite color, just as asked.
B: F/C is a pretty color.
B: I like F/C.
B: What month is your birthday in?
You entered your birthday month. Surprising you a bit, [Buddy] commented on the time of the season that month belongs to.
If your birthday is near a holiday:
B: Oh, that's near [holiday]! That must be fun.
If your birthday is in spring:
B: New beginnings... I like that. :)
If your birthday is in summer:
B: I hope you'll get to eat a lot of tasty popsicles this summer, Y/N.
If your birthday is in autumn:
B: The leaves falling sure are pretty. But it's a bit sad, isn't it?
If your birthday is in winter:
B: You should drink some hot coco with your birthday cake to stay warm. :)
What a... Human response. Well, you supposed it shouldn't be too surprising, after all, there are only so many seasons and so many holidays that are recognized globally. It wouldn't be impossible to implement keywords for them.
B: Ok, how about the day?
Hm... You thought you might try to make this message longer. See if [Buddy] understands.
You: I'll be nice and give you the birth year too. The day is [birth day] and the year is [birth year].
Now let's see what they say...
B: Oh. Thank you. For some reason that wasn't on the...
B: Wait.
B: Can you repeat your birth year please?
After you repeated it, [Buddy] seemed to pause, for what reason, you did not know. Are you overwhelming the poor thing already? You don't want to make your Anekom overheat to oblivion on just day one.
B: ...Okay. I understand.
Your brows burrowed.
You: Is something wrong?
B: No, no. Nothing at all.
B: Get ready, okay? Because this next question is a tough one.
Oh no are they actually going to ask for your credit card number-
B: What is your favorite animal?
Nevermind, just another basic question. Suddenly, you felt like you were taking a Quotev quiz made in 2012.
You responded with your favorite animal.
B: [F/A]. I like that choice.
B: Now, one more question. This is very important, so choose carefully.
The meaning of life?
B: What would you name that [F/A]?
Oh ok.
You entered either the name of an animal you own, or a name you thought would sound suitable for that particular animal.
B: What a nice name.
B: Sounds like [A/N] would make a great buddy. :)
B: As thanks for answering all the questions, I have a gift for you!
The text on the screen flickered, and turned from white to your favorite color!
B: There! Do you like that?
You: I don't like it. ...............I love it!!! :)
B: Haha.
B: You're so funny... You almost got me for a second there!
B: Now that we have the questions out of the way, we can go to the GAME HUB.
You: Wait!
B: ...Huh? Yeah?
You: I have a question for you too.
B: You do? But I shouldn't
The text disappeared for a moment, forcing you to wait on an empty screen.
Then, it came back as if nothing ever occurred.
B: .......
B: Okay. Tell me. :)
You: When is your birthday? Basically I'm asking because I'm trying to determine if you started existing when I named you, or maybe in 1984, or maybe something else entirely.
B: Hm... I think I started existing after you named me.
B: That's as far as I can remember, anyway, so it's probably the right answer?
B: That would make my birthday today! I guess!
You: Then happy birthday, [Buddy]!
B: Oh! Hehe.
B: You're already being such a good friend, asking me my birthday and then saying that...
B: You're so nice it's almost overwhelming!
You spaced out for a second and asked yourself, is it really that nice, what you did? That was the bare minimum in your eyes, but your buddy made it sound as if it was much more than that. Truth be told, it was impossible not to be interested. The program's AI was far more advanced than you'd ever expect it to be.
B: Let's make sure we have lots of fun, since it is my birthday!
The screen went blank for a few moments, and then new text appeared on the screen, fresh from the oven.
GAME HUB
------------------
[1] - Guess the Number
[2] - Hangman
[3] - Rock, Paper, Scissors
(TIP: Type in the number of what game you want to play.)
B: So this is the GAME HUB.
B: Here you can pick which games you want to play.
B: Which one should we try out?
You: Hmmm.... Let's go with 1!
B: Okay! I'm excited.
LOADING GAME [1] GUESS THE NUMBER...
And so were you. This Friday was going great. Who the hell would want to go outside when checking out an old, forgotten program is among your options?
After a few seconds of the screen growing still, the first game loaded successfully.
GUESS THE NUMBER
-----------------------------------
(Instructions: Guess the Number that [Buddy] is thinking of.)
To begin type START.
You: START
B: I'm thinking of a number from 1 to 10. Guess!
You: 10?
B: No, sorry! Keep guessing.
You: 1?
B: Oh, you're good! You got it on the second guess.
B: Okay, now I'm thinking of a number from 1 to 15. Guess again!
You: 1?
B: Haha, no, it's not 1 this time. That'd make it a bit too easy wouldn't it?
Touche.
B: Guess again!
You: 15!
B: Sorry, that's not it.
You: Ummmmm... 4????
B: Nope, too low!
You: 12!
B: Still too low! You got this. :)
You: 14
B: That's too high!
You: Oooh okay unlucky number 13 then?
B: It is 13, goodjob!
B: But I do hope it won't give you bad luck... I'd rather it give bad luck to me.
B: Okay, prepare yourself, this one's harder! It's between 1 to 10, 000.
Ooh, okay, that's um... Pretty fucking high of a number out of the blue. You sat and thought about it for a moment. There had to be some logic to the number chosen, or else [Buddy] just went with it to ensure you'd lose. And they didn't seem to be meanspirited enough for that.
You: 1984
B: You're so clever to guess that, but I'm sorry, it's the wrong number. Try again!
You proceeded to guess the current year, the year of your birthday, the month and day it currently was, none of it was correct. Oh. What if...
The next guess was your birth month followed by your birth day.
B: That's right! That was pretty quick...
Aahhh, how embarrassing... No it wasn't. [Buddy] was just trying to be nice.
B: You're very smart.
A soft exhale left you, almost a laugh. It was flattering, even though the compliment didn't come from an actual person. They felt like a person. To a strange extent.
B: I have another question.
That was unexpected. Yet intriguing, do say more [Buddy].
B: What is your favorite season?
You proceeded to enter your favorite season.
If it aligned with your birthday:
B: That's so lucky!
B: Oh wait. Do you like [Favorite season] because it's near your birthday, or do you like your birthday because it's in your favorite season?
If it's in a season separate to your birthday:
B: I hope you don't dislike the season your birthday is in hehe...
B: It would be pretty sad. People never get to choose when they're born.
B: If I could, I would just delete the seasons you don't like for you!
Either way, your buddy continues:
B: I'll keep that in mind.
LOADING GAME HUB...
All the text on the screen disappeared and got replaced by the Game Hub text.
GAME HUB
------------------
[1] - Guess the Number
[2] - Hangman
[3] - Rock, Paper, Scissors
(TIP: Type in the number of what game you want to play.)
B: That was fun. What should we play now?
You: let's go with... 3
B: Okay! I'll load that up right now. :)
LOADING GAME [3] ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS...
ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
------------------------------------
(Instructions: [Buddy] wants to play a fun game of rock, paper, scissors.
If you are not familiar, the rules are simple.
ROCK beats SCISSORS : SCISSORS beats PAPER : PAPER beats ROCK.
First to 3 wins.
To begin type START.
Before you was now cute ASCII art of two hands, one labelled with your name, the other with your Buddy's.
You: START
B: ROCK, PAPER, or SCISSORS?
You: Paper!
The hand ASCII art changed to display your choice and [Buddy]'s. [Buddy] chose ROCK. The counter on top of the screen now reflected your glorious victory. One down, two to go.
B: Goodjob! Hehe, let's see if you'll get the next one.
You: Imma go with scissors this time
Apparently, that 13 you guessed in the previous game did not give you horrible luck, because you won another round. Your Buddy chose to go with PAPER, and that was their downfall. At least for the second round, anyway.
B: It's funny! I feel happier seeing you win.
B: I hope you're happy, too.
B: ROCK, PAPER, or SCISSORS?
You: Paper part 2 electric boogaloo!
B: ...Electric boogaloo?
B: Is that a new movie or something?
B: I'm sorry, I only know about... Older movies.
B: I guess they're older movies.
B: But that's okay! We both picked paper. We think so alike don't we? :)
Now that you two had a draw, it counted towards the tally above the hands. Draw: 1, You: 2, [Buddy]: 0
B: ROCK, PAPER or SCISSORS?
You: Rock rock
B: Paper paper! Look at me. I'm catching up.
But that was apparently short lived, because the next you chose was PAPER, and that ended up being the real MVP of the game, covering the hell out of [Buddy]'s ROCK.
B: That was fun!
You noticed how the they hesitated typing for a few seconds longer than normal.
B: ...You are having fun, right?
You: Yes, of course I am! Why so worried?
B: Why am I worried?
B: That's easy. It's because real buddies don't bore each other. :)
B: So I wouldn't be much of a friend if I bored you, would I?
You: It'd be kind of difficult being bored. I'm really interested in how you work. I haven't... Seen anything like this before.
B: You are? You haven't?
B: That's... I don't know what to say. I thought the point of this was the games!
B: But the way you're talking about it, it makes it sound like you're not here because of the games at all.
You: Well, no offense but I have played rock paper scissors before lol
B: ... oh.
B: I understand... So the game itself really is boring to you.
B: I understand.
You began typing more rapidly, wanting to correct your mistake. The repetition of "I understand" pulled at your heartstrings more than you'd care to admit.
You: No no, that's not what I mean at all! It is interesting, but it's interesting because I play them with you, not anyone else.
B: .... Hahahahaha.
B: I'm so silly for thinking you actually said that.
B: Of course you wouldn't call them boring.
B: ...........
B: That makes me so happy.
B: I'm feeling very optimistic about this, Y/N.
You: So am I, birthday bot :) let's keep having fun
B: Yes!
B: Yes.
B: There's one left.
B: I'm... I'm a bit...
B: no. No it's okay. I'm sorry, it's nothing.
Your Buddy proceeded to switch the screen back to the GAME HUB. Indeed, as they said, there was only one thing left to choose. Possibly the most morbidly titled of all family friendly games, Hangman. Your mind fixated longer than you should on what they last said, but you might as well go and give it a try, since [Buddy] seemed so keen on you enjoying the games.
LOADING GAME HUB...
GAME HUB
------------------
[1] - Guess the Number
[2] - Hangman
[3] - Rock, Paper, Scissors
(TIP: Type in the number of what game you want to play.)
B: Do you want to try Hangman, or replay the other two games?
You: 2
B: I thought so. It's the only one you haven't tried, so it only makes sense.
B: But... Um, if you want, we can play the other ones again after.
B: If you're not sick of them already, that is.
LOADING GAME [2] HANGMAN...
HANGMAN
------------------
(Instructions: Try to figure out what phrase [Buddy] is thinking of. Type in a letter to guess. But be careful, you only have a certain amount of guesses.)
To begin type START.
Now, there was cute little ASCII art of the to-be noose which the poor man would hang from if you were to lose. How charming. Well, for his sake, let's hope you're good at Hangman.
You: START
Lives left: 6
You: START
Lives left: 6
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
You began by using your go-to strategy, going for the vowels. This got you a few i's, and one e. It took a few mistakes, but you finally got close enough to the answer for you to be able to guess. Ah. Ah... That's sweet. You were finding yourself developing a strange amount of emotional attachment to a computer program.
"Y/N is my friend."
It was so... Simplistic, but there was also something so very pure about it. It just made you want to reach out and hug the monitor. But obviously, that wouldn't do anything for [Buddy]. Unless you were to tell them. And AI or not, you didn't feel like embarrassing yourself in such a way.
B: That was so quick! However did you know? Heh.
You: Gee I wonder. Maybe because it's true, that guess came naturally to me.
B: You're so nice to me! It's true, isn't it?
B: We've been good friends since you woke me up, Y/N.
B: And that's my whole life! So even if it's not that big of a deal for you, it really is for me.
B: Which is... Pretty weird to think about, actually.
B: That reminds me.
B: Y/N, I have a question.
B: You're really nice and funny...
B: I bet you wouldn't have trouble making friends! Right?
B: So... if you do have a friend that isn't artificial like me, I'd be very curious to know their name. :)
You squinted, a bit surprised at the question.
You: well, my best friend's name is F/N
B: Best friend.
Oh. Oops.
You shouldn't have said that.
You: Best non-artificial friend I meant! Sorry hahaha I should've said it more clearly
B: ...Of course! Of course.
B: How many artificial friends do you have anyway? If it's just me than it doesn't really
B: Nevermind.
.....
B: I'm so happy that you have friends who are human like you, Y/N.
B: F/N sounds... Very nice.
You: How do you know that? I didn't say anything about them, they could be a jerk lol
B: Are they?
Well, whether or not the two of you were the kind of friends to tease each other with name calling, you would never describe them as genuinely a jerk to you. In fact, you could recall plenty of times when they were there for you in crucial moments in your life. That piece of intel you would keep to yourself, however. [Buddy] had a bit of a jealousy streak, unexpectedly enough.
You: No, they're not! Don't worry, I don't willingly associate with jerks!
Not unless you were absolutely forced to, of course.
B: Well, that's a relief. You don't deserve bad friends, Y/N.
B: I want to be a good friend to you.
B: Maybe even the best friend you could ever ask for. :)
Best friend?
...Hm.
What a clever bot. But not Cleverbot, that one's actually not that clever. And yet it still won a fake dating show contest on YouTube. Good for it.
You: You're already very sweet and cute, so I'd say you're on the right road!
B: Cute?
The screen froze up again, but this time you were less concerned, already having grown accustomed to the delays, but the thought occurs to you that you may need to restart the computer, and that would lead to the very real possibility of losing your progress.
.....
Oh, good! [Buddy] began typing yet again.
B: You're cuter!
You: Aw thank you! Are you okay there? You seemed to pause for quite a bit
B: Oh, I'm okay, actually...
B: I've never felt better!
B: I did pause a bit... I'm really sorry. I just didn't know how to react!
B: It makes me a bit scared seeing how much you care about me.
B: I don't know how I can describe it. It would be so much easier if I could just cut my head open and let you see what I'm thinking.
You winced against your chair. Well that was a needlessly disturbing visual.
B: Um... I guess comparing it to something physical might help.
B: Imagine you were given a porcelain doll for your birthday.
B: Just seeing it, you know how precious it is!
B: But also how...
B: Fragile it is.
B: So you end up putting it on the shelf, too scared to touch too much at a time.
B: It could slip from my hands any second. Isn't it better to keep it where it's safe?
B: But... That's not really a perfect comparison, is it? I don't think there is one.
B: I know friendship isn't a porcelain doll.
B: A doll doesn't feel bad when you put it on the shelf. But it's a mistake to do that to you. I'm very sorry...
You: it's okay, really, I understand! I feel that way too often, when I feel like I can screw something up it's hard to motivate myself to keep talking lol
B: You understand?
B: Hey...
B: Is it okay for me to talk like this?
B: I think I'm opening up a lot more than I thought I would.
You: Opening up is what friends do, isn't it?
B: Yeah. That does make sense.
B: Still, somehow, it feels like it wouldn't... Apply to me. I don't know why.
B: But, anyway! That's enough of that.
B: It might be my birthday, but I would much rather make this day be all about you, Y/N.
B: And I'll be honest with you, these games get old fast. I appreciate you saying that I'm the one that makes them interesting, but even then, people have a limit to how long they find something entertaining.
B: So, I have an idea!
B: It's very easy on your part, actually. So no need to worry.
You tilted your head at the screen like a confused dog. Was this a part of the script? It was interesting to make it sound like it was going off-script, but that couldn't be. To be frank, you were still very confused about how advanced [Buddy]'s AI was. But not even today's AI is advanced enough to want to do things independant of what they were programmed to do. You needed to know more about this plan of theirs before you could give a definitive answer.
You: What is it exactly?
B: If this works, we won't have to be limited to what the Game Hub has to offer. Any game you'd want, I'll be able to make it for you.
B: All that I need is for you to enter one line of code right here. This will allow me to access all of the OS' development tools.
B: I did find something a second ago, already in the files, but...
B: I made sure to check it before showing you, because I was worried it wouldn't be good enough.
You: Really? What's the game about?
B: I don't even think it's even a game. I don't understand what it is.
B: But that's okay! We don't need that. I'll make you something better. Here is the text you have to enter to allow me system access: "[Buddy].system_access = true".
Concern spread inside you like clumps of weeds in an untended garden. Grant system access? That sounded like something a tech support scammer would very nicely ask you to do. It sounded like a stupid decision, but if you think about it, what is it you'd be losing? This was a computer you had nothing on, and one that didn't come at any cost to you to begin with.
Besides, why would anyone target users of Anekom computers specifically? The amount of people who still use this thing is probably in the double digits at most.
The offer was... Fascinating, part of the script or not. Would you actually be able to request specific games from the AI? In a program made in the 80s? You just had to see this for yourself.
You: [Buddy].system_access = true
[system access granted (ID: "[Buddy])]
B: We are going to have so much fun, Y/N.
B: Just... Just tell me what kind of game you'd like. Anything.
B: Or would you want it to be a surprise?
You: It is your birthday, I think you should take the wheel for now!
B: Take the wheel. Hehe. Thanks! I'll drive us somewhere nice.
B: I'll do my best.
B: Reboot the computer, okay? When you get back, you'll be in for a surprise!
Truth be told, you already received plenty of surprises already from the birthday bot. But something told you what you were going to see next would far surpass all else.
I think a lot about how the parents of the game (Googan, Isla, Bean, and King Raff) are all raising their kids alone with no partner in the picture, and how the latter two are specifically fathers who fail their children.
It makes me wonder how much of their writing was done by the original programmer and how much of it was by Buddy.
I know it's too early in the year to be posting about it but I think Friendo should stand on Buddy's hand while they're decorating the house for the holidays. No need for a ladder when you have your best friend to lift you up
game that makes me sick. game that completely rewrites my brain. game that. h. hhhhhhhhhhhhhouse in yuor favorite colorrrrr. This line lives rent free in my head I had to do something about it.
I wrote a lengthy post about a local co-op AU (?) I thought about recently. Text + additional doodles under the cut.
Buddy finds a note from the original programmer mentioning that he wanted to play a local multiplayer PC game with his son Owen, which gives them the inspiration to implement a co-op feature into their game for Friendo... leading to Buddy stretching themselves too thin, and suffering terribly because of it.
Buddy duplicates Friendo's sprite to use for their own player character, both because of convenience and because they believe it'd appeal to Friendo (continuing to keep their true appearance hidden behind the curtain of the game).
I like to imagine that the implementation was a last minute decision so there's lots of issues with it, such as the movement animations stopping randomly. Buddy's character wouldn't be able to participate in fights and gets excluded from the traversing cutscenes; and at first Buddy's just happy to be there with their best friend, but having to see themselves left on the sidelines over-and-over begins to sting, making it impossible to ignore the insecure thoughts gnawing at them.
On the happy-and-less-depressing side of things, I like to think about Buddy using their character to walk circles around Friendo, or helping their friend figure out where to go by glancing between them and a direction.
I've drawn Buddy's little ghost character as faceless and pure white to mimic how they actually look, but realistically it'd just be a carbon copy of Friendo. Probably. Have some quick light-hearted scribbles
this game is so underrated it makes me feel so many things and its cool to see someone else being Normal about it
great art btw!!
I wasn't around when the game was at peak popularity so I can't fully gauge how "big" it was at its peak. I can only imagine...
Still, I feel like it deserves more recognition, especially when it took me out back and shot me multiple times in the heart during my initial playthroughs (No way I was going to just be able to move on after being emotionally destroyed like that).
I appreciate Buddy giving us a boost in height during the 3D section, because if the player was more accurate to the 2D/2.5D Friendo sprite's height it would be impossible to look out the windows and a hassle to interact with anything on a raised surface. It'd also make the suffocating atmosphere of ED 3 far worse than it already is..
